


The Process of Breaking Bad

by Thefuturediary



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 16:06:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20763137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thefuturediary/pseuds/Thefuturediary
Summary: Sofia Hogarth was a Gryffindor girl about to start her sixth year at Hogwarts, coming from a family that had been in Gryffindor for centuries even before she stepped in Hogwarts she had her name carved in red and gold. However she has never fully fit in with her house with constant whispers that she should've been sorted elsewhere. She has liked a boy named Lorenzo since first year but feels the chance of a relationship growing slimmer and slimmer. In addition her awful OWLs mean tough coursework and a limited future. These are her main worries in a peaceful world that has been free of Voldemort for nearly forty years. But there are far more sister things lurking in the shadows, and Sofia's incredible magical talent could be of use to many of them. Especially as her life spirals out of control while her thoughts become dark and clouded.





	The Process of Breaking Bad

Sofia Hogarth tripped a little as she got on board the Hogwarts Express. She gripped the railing, steadied herself and looked around to make sure no one saw that. Just what she needed to start her sixth year, Sofia thought as she weaved through the trains corridor seeking her friends. She walked past the compartment where most of the Gryffindor Quidditch team were sat. Upon seeing her Lorenzo Ibarra, the teams captain and star Keeper, gave a friendly wave. Sofia felt her heart speed up and knew she was blushing as she feebly waved back. Although of course it was common courtesy for Lorenzo to wave, they were in the same year and both Gryffindors. That didn’t stop Sofia’s mind from wandering though as she wondered if this was the year Lorenzo would finally begin to reciprocate her feelings.

She had liked Lorenzo since she first met him in her first year and he had only got more attractive as the years passed. He was tall with an athletic build that came from playing Quidditch his whole life. His parents came from Northern Spain so he had fair skin with dark wavy hair and a string, chiseled face. Most people couldn't believe Lorenzo was only sixteen. But Sofia’s favourite part about him was his eyes, he had the lightest crystal blue eyes. Lorenzo had always excelled at Quidditch having been the first choice keeper since first year (nearly unheard off) and the team captain since fourth year. Most people thought he would go on to play professionally after he graduated Hogwarts, and if he was lucky even play for England or Spain. That being said he was also solid at school and Sofia reckoned he had been made prefect but who was the female one…

Sofia’s thoughts were interrupted as she arrived at the compartment where her friends were sat. She’s not a social butterfly but she does have two close friends, both relative outcasts in their respective houses. The first is Ethan Oni a quiet black boy from Ravenclaw. He has dark skin and close cropped curly hair. He is rather short and has round, chubby face, resulting in him always looker pleasantly happy but also much younger than his age. To be fair to him he is not really an outcast but he does have a quiet and peaceful demeanor that allows him to easily get along with those from other houses. The second was Iris Zhou a tall Slytherin girl. She is Chinese with a narrow face and long straight hair. While she is bubbly and charismatic she has never totally fit in at Slytherin at least in part due to being half blood (and from a family often considered “blood traitors”).

As for Sofia since her first year she has not got along with most Gryffindors. She was of pure blood having been raised in one of the most well known Gryffindor wizarding families. Even though her parents repeatedly told that it did not matter what house she was in, Sofia always felt pressure to be in Gryffindor and continue her family line. When she was eleven and she put on the sorting hat, she prayed and prayed for Gryffindor. Sofia got her wish but has always felt disjointed from what it means to be a Gryffindor. She is brave and determined, yes, but also cunning and has a prideful streak she has never been able to hide. That is without mentioning her incredible skill at magic, that has made her known across for the wizarding world for being a prodigy on a level that has not been seen in decades. There have always been whispers that Sofia would’ve fit better in Ravenclaw, or maybe even Slytherin. 

“Do you know the Gryffindor prefects?” Sofia asked, before she had even sat down or said hi to her friends that she had not seen all summer.

“Well I guess we know what’s on your mind huh? And yes, Lorenzo is the male prefect, how shocking, and Rosie is the female one.” replied Iris almost immediately. Sofia thought Iris would know, she always seemed to know school gossip before anyone. 

“Thanks.” responded Sofia, her tone flat as she slid down her seat looking glum. She had suspected Rosie would be the prefect since Sofia hadn’t received the badge in August but it still felt like a punch to the gut.

“You know, Ethans been made Ravenclaw prefect.” said Iris.

“Congrats” said Sofia dully, looking in Ethans direction. He returned a smile and began chatting to Iris about his summer. Meanwhile Sofia slumped in her seat and thought about Rosie.

Rosie Preston was a Gryffindor girl in her year. She was muggleborn so Sofia knew nothing about her prior to meeting her first year. However Sofia quickly developed resentment towards her which gradually turned into hatred. Rosie was a very good student, mostly due to grit and hard work rather than natural talent. This was in sharp contrast to Sofia who excelled at Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense against the Dark Arts but struggled to apply herself in regards to her other subjects where she had no innate ability towards. Rosie would always get the most praise from professors which irritated Sofia as she had far better skills. Rosie also played for the Quidditch team as a beater whereas Sofia could not fly more than two meters in a straight line. Yet despite all this Rosie remained kind, humble, brave and determined, the picture of a perfect Gryffindor. It made Sofia’s blood boil just thinking about it. 

And then there was Rosie’s relationship with Lorenzo. They had been friends since first year and they remained only friends but Sofia was always worried it would blossom into something more. She could see why Lorenzo might like Rosie. In addition to her personality Rosie was pretty. She had curly blond hair, an oval rosy freckled face, large blue eyes and a cute upturned nose. She was pretty in a cutesy way which a lot of boys like, she radiated innocence and kindness. Sofia was objectively pretty as well, probably even prettier but her looks came off as sadder, even a little dark and evil. Sofia had lily white skin which hardly tanned in the dull Scottish weather of Hogwarts or in the weather of Sunderland where she spent her summers. This contrasted which her long wavy hair and almond shaped eyes both of which were a dark, deep brown shade. She had an elegant oval face, high slightly visible cheekbones, a straight nose that turned up a bit towards the end, and full dark pink lips with a rather defined cupid's bow. People often told her that she resembled women from paintings hundreds of years old. 

This is part of why Sofia felt she belonged together with Lorenzo more than Rosie did. Objectively Sofia and Lorenzo would make the better looking couple, they both had dark hai…Sofia was jolted out of her thoughts when she heard the compartment door open and Ethan announce that he was off to the prefects meeting at the front of the train. Suddenly Sofia had an idea.

“Can you watch Lorenzo and Rosie please? See how friendly they are with each other, if they seem romantic or anything else noteworthy?” asked Sofia quickly.

“Eh...Sure,'' replied Ethan seeming a little taken aback by the request from the girl who had been silent the entire train ride so far. Once Ethan had left, Iris turned to Sofia.

“So I take it you’re not happy with the prefect choice?” asked Iris. 

“I just feel like it’s not fair, yes Rosie works hard but I’m the better witch simple as. It sounds arrogant to say but I’m the most talented student at magic that Hogwarts has seen in decades I should at least be made prefect. And I come from one of the most famous Gryffindor families, Rosie has no history with the house at all.” responded Sofia in a huff. She was very annoyed about the prefect appointment and she didn’t really care about how arrogant she sounded.

“Yeah but Gryffindor appoints based off of how much you embody the houses not innate talent or your family line. If you were in Slytherin or Ravenclaw you probably would’ve been made prefect. Also you have to work hard and do well on your OWL’s, how did you do?” Iris replied, already knowing the answer.

“Dreadful” said Sofia in a dull voice. It was what Iris expected and it was true. “Got O’s in Charms, Transfiguration and Defense against the Dark Arts as expected but other then that I only passed Care of Magical Creatures and Divination both with A’s. Got a P in Astronomy and Herbology, a D in Astronomy and History of Magic. My History of Magic was so bad I nearly got a T, didn’t even know that mark existed. What about you, surely you did well?”

“Not bad, I passed all other then History of Magic. I even got an O in potions which was unexpected, my only O though Ethan got loads. I’ll continue taking Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Herbology, and Astronomy. What NEWTs are you gonna take? Think at least four is recommended if you wanna be able to get a good job after school.” replied Iris.

“Yeah four is recommended, I know I’m a bit fucked. I’ll take the obvious three then I think Care of Magical Creatures. You can’t normally take it with an A but I think I’ll beg Hagrid to let me. He likes me and I’m a Gryffindor so he’ll probably allow it.” Sofia said. They would be telling Professor Mcgonagall what courses they hoped to study tomorrow and Sofia was petrified. She would have to tell Mcgonagall that Hagrid had had already cleared her to take Care of Magical Creatures because there was no way she’d be able to talk to Hagrid during the feast. Sofia audibly gulped at the thought of having to lie to Professor Mcgonagall even though she was normally a great liar. 

Sofia looked out the window and noticed she could see the Hogwarts castle in the distance. It was time to change into her robes so she drew the curtains and quickly changed. She examined herself in the mirror, applied a bit of lip gloss and lengthened her lashes with a quick spell. Iris sometimes remarked that Sofia was rather vain but Sofia felt as though she straddled the line between deep vanity and deep insecurity. Next thing they knew the train had stopped and they disembarked, ready to board the carriages. Sofia always liked the carriage ride because while she could not see the Thestrals, Ethan could because he had witnessed his grandfather die when he was five. She enjoyed listening to him describe the skeletal winged horses and in a way wished she could see them (would witnessing an elderly person she had never met have a heart attack be so bad? Ethan didn’t seem too affected and that was his grandfather.). She boarded the carriages with Iris and they were joined by two more Slytherins in their year. 

Sofia rolled her eyes, of course she would be stuck with three Slytherins for the half hour carriage ride. While she did not particularly fit in with Gryffindors, most Slytherins treated her as one all the same. And Iris had an unfortunate obsession with fitting in so she would join in with making fun of Gryffindors provided there were mostly Slytherins around. The first Slytherin is a girl with short wavy black hair and tanned skin named Mia Singh, Sofia remembers having potions with her. The other is a boy with pale skin and white hair, perhaps him and Sofia had a class together but she doesn't remember his name. They both nodded hello to Iris, and she waved back. Mia turned to Sofia and said

“Are you the muggleborn girl?”.

“No I’m pure blood.” responds Sofia coldly “I’m from the Hogarth family.”. She was annoyed and let it be known from her facial expression, she had been with Slytherins for about a minute and they already asked about her parentage. And who is this “muggleborn girl”? 

“The Hogarth family from Tyne and Wear are known as one of the oldest and only pure blood Gryffindor families. For hundreds of years they’ve been attending Hogwarts for centuries and nearly all have been Gryffindor” said the boy with white hair. Sofia nodded to indicate he was correct. 

“Oh my apologies, I must have been confusing you with someone else. I hold respect for all pure blood families regardless of their house.” said Mia politely although she bore an unnaturally tight smile.

“You are likely thinking of Rosie Preston, a muggleborn Gryffindor girl.” replied the blond boy, whose name Sofia still did not know. 

“Yes, I suppose so.” responded Mia. Sofia sat there, silently seething. She was already slightly annoyed at being mistaken for a muggleborn (but she would never admit that) but being mistaken for Rosie of all people? She could hear Iris chuckling at her expense. Sofia prayed she would fall from the carriage and be crushed to death by one of those invisible Thestrals. 

“You’re the girl who’s incredible at magic right? Is it true that you are an Animagus already, that you can transform into a raven?” Mia asked with a kind voice, apparently she was now aware who Sofia was leading Sofia to wonder if she was ever unsure. 

“Um yeah that’s me.” responds Sofia “And yes it’s true.”. She is a registered Animagus having got permission from the Ministry and Mcgonagall in her fourth year. 

“Funny you’re not prefect then huh? Guess the muggleborn beat you, that must hurt.” replied Mia this time with a more sinister voice. Thankfully Sofia is not a fiery person and does get drawn into conflict very easily, especially compared to some of her housemates. 

“Yes, it is funny.” she responds calmly giving him a small smile. Sofia was often told her smile was creepy and used this to her advantage. Her skin looked nearly translucent in the pale moonlight, further accentuating her dark hair and eyes. She resembled a corpse come to life, and both the Slytherins looked rather unnerved. 

“You know I think people might be right when they say you were placed in the wrong house.” said the boy with a laugh just as the carriage parked and they prepared to enter the Great Hall. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I hope you like the first chapter! I will hopefully have weekly updates but as I'm a student and in the process of applying to uni some updates might be a bit late. But yeah that's the schedule


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